My apologies for being off the air here for a couple of days here. But I've been out in Southern California on a business trip from JimHillMedia and the Huffington Post. Going to the sorts of places that Disney fans just dream about getting into and seeing things that … Well, I can't talk about. Not yet, anyway. But in the weeks & months ahead, boy, will I have some truly cool stories to share.
But — for now (mostly because I'm headed out the door shortly for a roundtable session at Disney California Adventure) — I just want to share one quick story that happened yesterday afternoon. And let me preface this by saying that this was not some pre-manufactured photo op. This all happened spontaneously as my daughter Alice and I were out in Disneyland Park, killing time between press events.
Okay. So you've probably already heard about this "Iron Man 3" exhibit that's currently on display in Innoventions. Well, I hadn't been back to Disneyland Park since "Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries" first opened back on April 13th. And since I knew that this Marvel Entertainment-inspired display is only supposed to be in Tomorrowland for a limited time, I wanted to be sure & catch this exhibit before it closed. So Alice and I hustled up the ramp in Disneyland's old Carousel of Progress / America Sings show building …
Photo by Jim Hill
… and found all sorts of folks proudly posing for pictures in front of that exact replica of Tony Stark's Hall of Armor.
Photo by Jim Hill
I had hoped to personally be able to try out the "Iron Man Tech" exhibit's "Big Wow." Which is where — thanks to some nifty augmented reality technology — you can then see yourself suited up in pieces of the Mark 42 armor on a video display and then get to test this suit's various capabilities. But Alice & I were on kind of a tight schedule yesterday. More to the point, the line was kind of long. So we were just about to exit Innoventions when who comes through the Mark 42 line but this beautiful little three year-old girl dressed in a Snow White costume.
Photo by Jim Hill
Mind you, this little girl wasn't entirely sure of what she's doing when she first steps onto that augmented reality pad. Which is why she initially needed a little help from Mom …
Photo by Jim Hill
But this little girl quickly got the hang of the whole video display thing. Which is why — within moments — she was expertly firing the repulsors that are hidden in the gloves on her Iron Man armor …
Photo by Jim Hill
… not to mention flying around Tony Stark's lab like she's been wearing an Iron Man suit since the day she was born.
Photo by Jim Hill
And there was just something about this whole moment — watching these two huge Disney-owned IPs (i.e. Disney Princess and Marvel Entertainment) — come together in this incredibly cute way that was so sweet & surreal that … Well, I just had to share it with you this morning.
Anyway … I just wanted to share this story quick with you guys before I then headed out the door for this morning's "Monstrous Summer" press roundtable thingy. I'll have other tales to tell on JHM & HuffPo shortly. But — for now — here's hoping that you & yours have a safe & enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.